Marcus Lush Nights

Marcus and his callers make their guesses on what staples of society won't be around in two decades, and reminisce on things that have fallen by the wayside since 2001. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Having a half-empty Eden Park to watch the All Blacks v Australia this weekend was a continuation of a growing trend of 'rugby apathy' in New Zealand - so what went wrong, and what would get you back to a match? As with anything, maybe the answer lies with food... LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What are the things you've never done? Or the thing you only just did for the first time, that everyone else seems to have done a long time ago? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After taking his young children to see Black Widow, Marcus' listeners were quick to share stories of seeing movies that they were too young for - either intentionally or by accident. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the stranded orca in Wellington leading the headlines, Marcus' callers had plenty to say about these fascinating animals. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The mother of one of the victims of the Christchurch mosque attacks has a simple message are shocked by an early draft script of a film based on the attacks: "No".  Newshub received a leaked script of 'They Are Us' and say the first 17 pages are focussed on the attack. The project, described as following the week after March 15, has faced strong criticism and prompted a petition to stop it being m...

After reading that onions are this nation's biggest vegetable export, Marcus' question was initially simple: where's the great onion farm he's never heard of? Then the conversation layers came peeling off to cover onion sandwiches, a literal flood of onions, and the inevitable 'why don't we have a giant onion statue somewhere?'. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the shortest night of the year, it made sense to talk warm winter clothing - especially Marcus' least favourite type: the puffer jacket. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealand is well known for being a small country – but what is the likelihood you would know the person phoning into talkback? That question formed the basis of Marcus Lush’s newest radio game ‘Connections’. The premise was to one caller on, and then the second had to know or have some connection to the first, and thus start a chain of connections – a sort of dot-to-dot – between callers across...

Do people from your town have a collective name? We all know the obvious ones like Aucklander and Wellingtonian, but some demonyms are more confusing and hotly contested. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As anticipation built for the spectacle of a total lunar eclipse combined with a super moon, Marcus and his callers did their best to share the view with those who couldn't see it for themselves. Head to the Facebook page to see the photos - or listen to the highlights from the entire show. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Usually, when talkback turns to petrol, it's only about the price - this was the night on everything but the price of fuel! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even though he's put up a 'No Junk Mail' sign, Paul still gets junk mail. Luckily, Marcus has a genius solution - and it's meant he hasn't received a single piece of junk mail in over 20 years. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After hearing apps often charge a monthly fee to remove ads without adding any new features, Steve phoned in to let everyone know how they could do it without paying anything - he was even nice enough to go through the process a couple of times so you can follow along in real-time. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Poppies are back in the headlines - in a very different way.  Instead of the usual long-weekend message of "we'll be everywhere and there'll be zero tolerance for speeding, cellphones, and drunk-driving", NZ Police will be handing out poppies to safe drivers this Anzac weekend. Marcus doesn't think it's a good idea - but RSA CEO Marty Donoghue says the campaign is all about raising awareness of de...

A talk on sad movies leads Marcus to ponder breaking one of his key radio rules. If you have the patience and perseverance to make it to the end, you deserve the laugh. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When it comes to estimating large-ish numbers, people use words like "some", "plenty", and "loads". But there's one word that people use that Marcus is confused by. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you make cheese on toast, should you use butter? Listeners to Marcus' show last night were passionately divided. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After Marcus noted the worst pain he experienced as a child was stepping on a thumbtack, listeners phoned to share stories of other "I shouldn't have stepped on that" injuries. Hear the advanced warning: this podcast isn't one to listen to if you're squeamish! LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Night classes have been talked about a bit the last couple of weeks and, with plenty of people having to retrain to reenter the workforce, Marcus wanted to hear stories of success (or failure) of night school from its heyday. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With news that footage from Led Zeppelin's only Auckland show was found in a shed this week, callers to Marcus last night were quick to re-live their experience of that concert in 1972, and notably, the train from Wellington that took them to the show. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Following the story of Lucinda Baulch, the Australian woman who refused to get a Covid test while in managed isolation in Wellington, Marcus struggled to think of any viable reason someone would have not to take one. Then Lisa, and later John, phoned to share their reasons not to get tested - which Marcus didn't take well... LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Zealanders' opinions are split when it comes to the dress code of MPs in Parliament. At the time of writing, more than 3,200 people had voted in an informal poll on the Herald's Facebook page on whether ties should remain compulsory. Of those 3,200 people, 45 per cent believe MPs should continue wearing ties, while 55 per cent don't think ties need to remain part of the Beehive's dress code. M...

After Steve and Marcus clashed on the safety of the conditionally-approved Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, the conversation has turned to the campaign to inform and educate the New Zealand public ahead of the mass rollout later this year. How can you talk to someone who is vehemently against vaccines, and what leads to that worldview in the first place? LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...

Marcus learned a lot about New Zealand's athletic track dominance over the years - from the number of Kiwis who have run a sub-four-minute mile, to the story of Dave McKenzie who was the first New Zealander to win the Boston Marathon back in the late 1960s. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.